Considering Shawn hadn't slept in almost a full day, I wasn't surprised when I woke a few hours later to find him wrapped around me completely asleep. He breath was coming out in soft little huffs against the back of my neck, which was what woke me in the first place. I slowly turned myself around in his arms so that I was facing him, receiving light grumbles, but nothing enough to pull him out of his slumber.
He looked different when he was asleep; no lines of stress tainted his face, his lips weren't pursed, and his eyebrows weren't furrowed in that cute little way he had. My amusement came in the form of running my hands through his curls uninhibited. And although I could probably play with his hair all day, the sounds of pots clanking in the kitchen made me stumble out of bed and out of my room, pulling his button down shirt over my head as I left.
"What are you cooking?" I mumbled sleepily as I stepped into the kitchen, where the sight of Russo in the pink chefs apron greeted me. "And is Tyler here?"
"Rosemary chicken. And he will be soon,"Russo replied.
I poured us each a glass of wine to sip on as we talked, and by the time the food was ready, he had told me about his entire day at he theatre and Tyler was slipping through the door right in time for dinner. He scrambled into the kitchen, wrapping his arm around his boyfriends waist in greeting before turning to me. When he did, his mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide. He was on me in a second, tugging at the collar of my borrowed shirt and letting out little gasps.
"You're fucking glowing, Norah. You even smell like sex," He accused. "You totally broke your dry spell. Which is hilarious, considering who I ran into today."
"God, is it that hard to believe that I am, in fact, capable of being sexually active?" I huffed.
"I do tend to question it sometimes. Now tell me everything."
"You tell me who you ran into today."
There were shouts of protests around the kitchen about who should tell their story first. As usual, we handled it in the most adult way we could possibly think of; rock, paper, scissors. After an intense battle that was only fueled by Russo' competitiveness, Tyler came out as the winner and I spoke first.
"Fine. I'm pretty sure you cheated, but I'll start anyways," I hissed. "We were playing monopoly, and then we got Chinese food. So he got really jealous and kind of freaked out..and it just kind of happened. It was nice."
"And....?" I narrowed my eyes.
"Every single inch of that man is a ten. I'm not elaborating any further, you nosy little fucks. You speak."
Tyler sipped his wine in an attempt to drag out my wait. But, after I reached forward and twisted his nipple through his button down, he gave in with a girlish shriek, ducked behind Russo to protect himself from my wrath, began to speak. "Well, you see..." He started slowly, wrapping his arms around his boyfriends waist and pulling him further away from me. "Now that I know what happened with you today, it doesn't seem to really be the brightest idea I've ever had."
"Hm?" His voice dropped to a whisper as he glanced around the room. "Is Shawn still here?"
"Yes? He's asleep though," I responded with furrowed eyebrows. "What did you do?"
"Fuck. Well, uh, it's kind of ironic, looking back," He tittered nervously. "Seeing as you broke your dry spell, and I just happened to run into Ian while I was out for coffee...and maybe invited him to dinner tonight?"
I could feel the color draining from my face the more Tyler spoke. "You're saying that Ian is coming over for dinner tonight?"
"Well...yeah. You guys were friends, and it ended well...and he's a cool guy...I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time, okay?"
"Have you met Shawn?" I hissed. "On what fucking planet would it ever be a good idea to bring my ex boyfriend of two years into remotely the same area as him?!" Tyler nuzzled further into Russo', who looked somewhat confused, back.
"It was just really shitty timing. How was I supposed to know you'd be doing Shawn the same day I ran into the guy you lost your virginity to! And it's not like Ian will try anything!"
And, as just to prove the entire universe was against me, Shawn Mendes chose that exact moment to walk into the kitchen, now clad in those dress pants that slung low on his hips. Every single person in the room jumped at his appearance; Russo turned around and flung himself into Tyler's arms, while I fell off the counter in shock. Shawn glanced at Tyler warily before turning to me. I gave him the only grin I could muster, which probably looked like I was about to throw up, before dropping my gaze back to ground in lieu of his deadly eyes and sinfully good looks.
"Would anyone care to explain?" Shawn asked lowly. There was complete silence, expect for a low grumble from Russo, in response. I continued to stare at the less-than-interesting tile.
"Norah. Who is Ian?"
While I was weighing my options on how to respond, which included running away or lying, the doorbell rang. Tyler let out a string of curses as he peeled himself out of Russo' arms and brushed past a fuming Shawn to go to the door. The CEO kept his deadly glare on me. I stared back in helplessness, repeatedly opening my mouth to form words, only to have my brain fail me. And it really didn't help that Shawn's eyes were half shut with sleepiness and he kept letting out soft yawns that were completely adorable. There was an awkward shuffling and Tyler slipped into the room, followed closely behind by my ex-boyfriend.
The first thing I noticed was that he had grown out his hair ; it was much longer than before, up to his shoulders . Ian gave me a small smile and opened his arms. "Hey, RahRah."
And Shawn was suddenly pushed from my mind at the use of the nickname, and I rushed into Ian's familiar arms that had held me for almost two years of my life. They were a little bit stronger than I remembered, but he still did that thing where he picked me up off the ground as he hugged me. "Ian Eastwood ," I giggled into his scruffy neck. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Hiding from you," He replied, setting my feet back down against the cool tile. He held me at arms length and gave me another warm smile that was accented with his brown eyes. "You look skinnier. And older. And goodness, how many hickeys are on your neck, Rah?"
It was then that Shawn made his presence known, literally pushing Ian's hands away from their grasp on my upper arms and tugging me back into his chest with a low growl. He gave me a warning squeeze on my hips before moving me behind him ever so slightly, as if he were sheltering me. Ian's , being the innocent man who I had never even seen kill a fly, didn't looked dazed.
"Ah, so you must be the hickey-giving boyfriend," He laughed. "And nice tattoos. I have a few as well." Shawn's inked arm muscles clenched under my grasp as I quickly cut in, hopefully to do some damage control on the quickly failing situation. "No. He's my...my...Shawn . This is Shawn ."
"Your Shawn ?" Ian taunted with a playful grin. Tyler and Russo looked on with wide eyes; they might as well have had a bucket of popcorn and drinks to watch the drama that was unfolding in front of them. "Well, hi, Norah's Shawn . I'm Ian Eastwood ." He then held out a hand in offering, which Shawn only glared at before turning to me. His eyes raked up and down my body, taking in the fact that I was only wearing his button down that stopped mid-thigh as they slowly darkened in anger with each inch they scaled over.
"Norah," Shawn hissed. "Go put on some god damn clothes right now."
"Come with me," I whispered. "Please."
He let out a small grunt and let me lead him from the kitchen, leaving a now very confused Ian with his hand still held out and waiting to be shook. I rushed to my room as quickly as possible and shut the door behind us, then turned to face Shawn. "Put on clothes," He said hoarsely, running his hands through his messy hair. "And as good as you look in it, I'm unfortunately going to need my shirt."
I did as I was told, and quickly undid the buttons on his white shirt before slipping it off my shoulders and tossing it to him, while he watched me in silence. The pair of Tyler's sweatpants that Shawn had attempted to fit into earlier were still laying on the ground, so I tugged those on, along with a loose black t-shirt. "Is what Tyler said true? That you lost your virginity to him?" Shawn asked suddenly.
"Yes. Not that it matters."
The second the words slipped out of my mouth, the let out an annoyed groan and grabbed my waist, pushing me back against the door in almost the exact same position we had been in only a few hours before. But, judging by the anger in his eyes, I felt like this time it probably wasn't going to end with me moaning his name into his shoulder. I took an uneasy breath and placed my hands on top of his, before running them up his arms, over his littered bicep, before they found their home gently grasping his neck with my thumbs tracing across his jawline.
"Hey, don't be so jealous. He's just a friend. So can we please have a good dinner?" When I stopped the movement of my thumbs, he nudged into my hands a little bit in an indication to keep going. So, with a slight blush in my cheeks and a fluttering heart, I began the slow action again, tracing the strong lines of his bones and the faint dip of his dimples.
"He has a nickname for you," Shawn said softly. "He should not call you that anymore."
I pulled his mouth against mine instead of responding to his petty jealously. The thoughts of all my friends in the other room and were pushed aside, because all that mattered right now was the way his soft lips were moving against mine in perfect, practiced harmony.
"Sit next to me at dinner," He commanded against my skin.
"And I will try."
"Thank you. Are you feeling better now that you've slept?"
"Yes," He grinned. "And I think the sex helped as well."
"Oh."
He pressed a fleeting kiss to my blushing cheek and interlaced our fingers. "You look absolutely adorable when you're embarrassed. Now come, I would love to be formally introduced to this Ian character."
We re-entered the kitchen now fully clothed, hand in hand, and with swollen lips. The table was set and everyone was sitting around it waiting for us. There were raised eyebrows and a low whistle from Russo at the sight of out dishevelled clothes, but nothing else was said as we slid into the waiting seats.
"Wine?" Tyler grinned, already knowing the answer completely. At my glare, he only giggled and began pouring.
"You'll probably need about four glasses." Russo punched his arm so I didn't have to, then turned back to the table with a small grin.
"So, Tyler and Norah, now why don't you introduce all of your little friends to each other."
"Well, everyone, this is my boyfriend Russo . And everyone, this is Norah's ex-boyfriend, current friend Ian . And this is Shawn ," He finished smoothly. "Now, who else would like wine?"
"I would," Ian grinned from his place beside me. "I somehow knew you two would be offering it up. You were always complete wine freaks."
"Shut it, Eastwood! You loved wine just as much as we did," I shot back, making Shawn your throw his arm lazily over my shoulder. Then, as if that wasn't enough, he tugged on my chair so that it was pulled closer to his and further from Ian's ." My ex cocked his eyebrows at the movement before smiling at Shawn.
"So, how do you know Norah?"
"She interviewed me," He snapped.
"For Vogue? Are you a model or something?"
I burst out into laughter, because that was naturally what one would assume Shawn was, with his endless legs and perfect features. "No, he's a CEO. We were doing a segment on being your own boss."
"Oh. What company?"
"Mendes Enterprises. I started the company as well. Any further questions, Mr. Eastwood ?" He asked icily.
"Dear god," I mumbled.
This was followed quickly by a snort of amusement from Russo and a quick change of subject by Tyler . The entire dinner passed much like this. Tyler carried on conversation beautifully, as he tended to do, which was accented by jokes from Russo . They made a perfect awkward-averting couple. Ian was kind and respectful as he always was, telling stories of his new job (a nurse at the children's hospital) and conversing easily with the rest of us. I chose to ignore the way Shawn was bristling at my side and talked as much as I wanted to.
That may have been because I was aided by a glass or two of wine, but I somehow managed it. By the end of it, Ian and Russo were getting along famously, and Shawn had started to calm down a little. The tension in the room had lessened bit by bit, and I was starting to think it might be okay when we moved from the table to the couches in the other room, glasses of wine in hand. Shawn pulled me into his lap easily, keeping one arm trained around my waist while the other worked to keep his glass still. I nuzzled back into him and decided that in Shawn's lap was probably one of my favorite places in the world, next to my bed and my new office.
"So Ian ," Tyler giggled. "Remember that time I dared you to see it you could fit a toothbrush in Norah's mouth after she fell asleep during that movie?" Ian burst out into deep chuckles.
"Yeah, and she didn't talk to me for a week after that."
"It was gross!" I whined at the memory.
"He purposely gave you his own toothbrush!"
"I probably should have known." Russo let out a scoff and brushed his fringe to the side. "Is that really your idea of prank, T ? You guys are super lame. I need to teach you."
"Absolutely not!" I squeaked. "We are not starting a prank war, or whatever it's fucking called. So don't even think -- Russo! I can see the ideas forming. Stop it right now!" He held up his free hand (the other was latched onto Tyler's ) in mock defense.
"Just know it'll be much worse than a toothbrush in your mouth, Norah." There was laughter around the room; even Shawn emitted a light chuckle that caused my smile to grow. We sipped our wine and talked about life in general, and soon enough everyone was laughing a little too much at Russo ' jokes and there was a flush to our cheeks. Even Ian , who I had rarely seen drinking in our days together, had a rosy tint and a bright smile. He looked familiar and at home sitting next to Tyler on our worn down couch, which was enough to send a pang of fond nostalgia through me.
"Stop moving," Shawn mumbled into my neck, dragging me out of my thoughts. "How many times will I have to tell you that?"
"Sorry, Mr. Mendes ," I whispered back playfully.
"Mr. Mendes ? You seem to have an odd affection for calling me that, Norah."
I shifted in his lap, throwing my legs horizontally across his so that I could see his face. He had the same glow he'd had at the wedding after one too many glasses of wine. His eyes were bright, and the damn stubble across his jaw only made him more attractive. "And what is that supposed to mean, Mr. Mendes ?" He nudged his nose into my cheek with a smile.
"I bet you'd love screaming that in bed. I bet you're into kinky stuff. I bet you'd go absolutely crazy if I let you call me that." My face turned a bright shade of red at the thought, and I buried my head into the crook of neck to hide it.
"You're awful," I mumbled. "Absolutely awful."
"I bet you'd like to beg for it, too," He whispered, brushing my hair to the side and pressing his lips to my ear. The goosebumps, that might as well be on my skin constantly when he was around, began to raise. And it didn't help that his left hand had slipped up my shirt and was tracing patterns on my back.
"So do you?"
"Stop it," I whined against his collarbones. "There are people in the room."
Before he could reply, Russo clapped his hands together in annoyance. "Oi, you two! We asked you a question, so stop sucking faces and listen up!" I raised my head off of Shawn's shoulder to scowl at Russo .
"We weren't sucking faces, asshole."
"Might as well have been," He shot back. "Now did you hear any part of what we asked you?"
"No," I admitted sheepishly. "But we still weren't snogging."
Russo brushed me off with a wave of his hand. "Ian wants us all to go out on Friday. To a club." I nodded eagerly at the thought. Clubbing with Tyler and Russo was bound to be a good time, and Ian was always fun to be around. Except Shawn seemed to have other ideas, because he tightened his grip on my waist and shook his head slowly. "No. Norah is coming to an event with me."
I turned around in surprise. "I am?"
"Yes, you are," He snapped. "On Friday."
"When did we talk about this?" Shawn's nostrils flared in annoyance. "Do not do this right now, Norah."
"Do what? You haven't even asked me," I huffed. "And I want to go clubbing."
Ian let out an awkward cough and we both turned to him, Shawn shooting daggers and me with a look of surprise. He rubbed the back of his neck under our gazes; it was a nervous habit that I had picked up on during our time of dating that I found oddly comforting. "We could, uhm, just go on Saturday? If that works for you, Rah?" Ian slowly asked.
"Perfect," I said happily, turning back around to Shawn . "Now we can go to whatever event you're talking about and hang out with Ian . Doesn't that sound great, Mr. Mendes ?"
And I wasn't sure if it was the idea of spending more time with my ex-boyfriend, or the formal use of the name he had just been previously taunting me with, or the fact that Ian had used the old nickname again, but either way Shawn Mendes looked absolutely pissed. He kept his eyes trained on me as he spoke, each word accented by his gravelly voice and thick accent. "That sounds lovely, Ian ."